Lesbian accuses Cracker Barrel of discrimination

A gay woman who worked at a Cracker Barrel restaurant has accused it of discrimination, saying management did nothing after she says co-workers groped her and made crude references to her sexuality.

Bonnie Usher, of Manchester, filed a complained with the state's human rights commission against the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in Londonderry, accusing management of discriminating against her.


Usher, who joined the restaurant as a cook in 2000, alleges she was groped by a colleague, propositioned sexually and subjected to abusive language.


She alleges that she was passed over for better shifts and promotions because she is a woman. She also claims that a picture of a co-worker allegedly grabbing her on the buttocks was hung in the employee break area for a weekend.


http://www.sovo.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=5130

Too bad they're so freepy. They have a kick ass hash brown casserole.

by Black employees of Cracker Barrel?

of racial discrimation

moreover, they even acknowledged that discrimination based on race was a problem in their company

Correction: They DIDN'T acknowlege that institutional discrimnation was a problem in their company. If they ever did acknowledge that racial discrimination was a problem at their company, then they would be hit left and right with civil lawsuits and class-action lawsuits.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SETTLES RACE DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT AGAINST CRACKER BARREL

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Justice today announced the filing and settlement of a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination against African-American customers by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., a nationwide family restaurant chain. In the agreement, memorialized in a consent order filed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Cracker Barrel commits to implementing far reaching changes to policies and practices, to prevent discrimination.

The Justice Department's complaint alleges that Cracker Barrel violated Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African-American customers and prospective customers on the basis of their race or color. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Cracker Barrel:

• · allowed white servers to refuse to wait on African-American customers;
  
  
• · segregated customer seating by race;
  
  
• · seated white customers before African-American customers who arrived earlier;
  
  
• · provided inferior service to African-American customers after they were seated; and
  
  
• · treated African-Americans who complained about the quality of Cracker Barrel's food or service less favorably than white customers who lodged similar complaints.

The Justice Department's investigation revealed evidence of such conduct in approximately 50 different Cracker Barrel restaurants in seven states: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Justice Department's investigation included interviews with approximately 150 persons, mostly former Cracker Barrel employees, of whom 80 percent stated that they experienced or witnessed discriminatory treatment of customers at a Cracker Barrel restaurant. The investigation suggested that managers often directed, participated in, or condoned the discriminatory behavior.

Filed with the complaint today in federal court was a jointly filed consent order resolving the allegations. Under the consent order, which remains subject to court approval and which covers Cracker Barrel restaurants nationwide, Cracker Barrel will hire an outside auditor to ensure compliance with its terms. The five-year agreement requires Cracker Barrel to:

· adopt and implement effective nondiscrimination policies and procedures;

· implement new and enhanced training programs to ensure compliance with Title II and the consent order;

· develop and implement an improved system for investigating, tracking, and resolving discrimination complaints;

· retain an outside contractor to test the compliance of Cracker Barrel restaurants with Title II and the order; and

· publicize the company's nondiscrimination policies.

"To discriminate on the basis of race in the provision of food and service tramples most gravely not only the civil rights laws, but also our nation's promise of equality," said R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "We take discrimination in the provision of food and services as seriously today as we did when the Civil Rights Act was passed almost 40 years ago. Where we find evidence, as we did here, that individuals of any race are receiving anything less than full and equal access to public accommodations, we will act."

Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin in places of public accommodation, such as restaurants and hotels. Under Title II, the Civil Rights Division can obtain injunctive relief that changes policies and practices to remedy customer discrimination. Title II does not authorize the Division to obtain specific relief, such as monetary damages for individual customers who are victims of discrimination. Since January 2001, the Civil Rights Division has resolved 14 cases and investigations involving alleged pattern or practice violations of this law.

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan/press/05-03-04.html

note to moderator: the text above is in the public domain

and they treat ALL their employees like shit, man, woman, gay, straight or other...

this is so sad -- a person has to work to live.

Conflict over gays

The controversy isn't the first to ensnare Cracker Barrel. In 1991, it caught flak for dismissing some workers because they were gay. The company says it quickly backpedaled. In 2002, it added sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination policy.

<snip>

Davis also says the government's requirements mainly enhance existing procedures — a claim disputed by Justice and the plaintiffs' attorneys.

A Justice official, who asked not to be identified, said that 80% of 150 current and former Cracker Barrel employees interviewed in Justice's investigation witnessed or experienced discrimination. "They weren't doing enough, obviously," he says of the company. In its complaint, Justice said Cracker Barrel failed to implement effective policies or procedures to prevent racial discrimination.

Among other things, the plaintiffs' attorneys say Cracker Barrel didn't investigate the "vast majority" of racial discrimination complaints made to headquarters.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2004-05-07-cracker-barrel_x.htm

I just wasn't aware that most families included groping and crude propositions as part of their traditions.

... Oh ... and really crappy, high-carb, over-cooked food, too (which does bear a striking resemblance to my family).

...these in Australia, but I did visit one in the U.S. ONCE. And I am glad to say they won't be receiving another penny from me. There food is as disgusting as what this poor woman had to put up with.

On edit: typo

we have one here....i love the gift shop and the food....but if they are bigots, i want

nothing to do with them....i hope that ex-employee takes em to the cleaners...

what assholes !!